obama hits putin, and the press. let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm joy reid in new york, in for chris matthews. president obama delivered a strong message today at his year end news conference backing the intelligence community's assessment that russia meddleed in the 2016 election. he made it clear, yes, vladimir putin was involved, and said there would be an american response at the time and place of our choosing. >> theintelligence that i have seen gives me great confidence in their assessment that the russians carried out this hack.

not much happened in russia without vladimir putin. this happened at the highest levels of the russian government. i will let you make that determination to whether there are high level russian officials who go off rogue and decide to tamper with the u.s. election process without vladimir putin knowing about it. >> the president said he personally told putin to cut it out and warned of consequences. let's watch. >> in early september when i saw president putin in china, i felt that the most effective way to insure that that didn't happen was to talk to him directly. and tell him to cut it out and there were going to be serious consequences if he didn't. >> obama also had a message for republicans who refused to criticize trump's coziness with putin, attributing it to partisan calculations. >> some folks who had made a career out of being anti-russian

didn't say anything about it. there was a survey some of you saw. 37% of republican voters approve of putin. ronald reagan would roll over in his grave. >> there was a very different message coming from the man who will take over as commander in chief next month. donald trump rejected the intellgents, mocked its serious nsdz, and questioned the motives of the white house. on sunday, he told fox news he didn't think russia was responsible. >> they have no idea if it's russia or china or somebody. it would be somebody sitting in a bed someplace. personally, it could be russia. i don't really think it is, but who knows. i don't know either. they don't know and i don't know. >> yesterday, he tweeted incorrectly that the white house acted only after the election. and today, trump returned to campaign mode, using the information from the russia hack to attack hillary clinton. tweeting, quote, are we talking about the same cyberattack where

it was revealed that head of the dnc illegally gave hillary the questions to the debate? meanwhile, according to "the new york times," trump has also questioned the motives of the intelligence community. quote, mr. trump has said privately in recent days that he believed there are people in the cia who are out to get him, and a working to delegitimize his presidency. according to people briefed on the conversations who describe them on the condition of an m anonymity. for more on this, i'm joined by kristen welker from orlando, yamiche alcindor, and eugene robinson. kristen, if you could elaborate more on these conversations apparently inside trump world that the cia is out to get him. >> reporter: right. well, i think there's a sense and a concern inside trump world that this story line will ultimately undercut the fact that he won. i think that's why you're seeing

him push back so strongly. and i have been talking to some of those who are close to him, his advisers who kind of echoed what you heard from him. could be russia. it could be china. they're not prepared to say it's russia definitively. here's what we also know. we know that the pressure is going to mount on the president-elect to not only acknowledge that it's russia but to do something about it because you have president obama saying he's going to take action against russia. we know that he has been in close consultation with the president-elect and i think one of my top headlines today, joy, is one of president-elect donald trump's advisers saying he believes that the president-elect is prepared to in some way, shape, or form consult with the current commander in chief about how to proceed and to not necessarily block him. the big question, of course, what happens when he takes office? there are bipartisan calls for an investigation to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. will he be prepared to support

those investigations once he is in the white house? that's going to be the critical question moving forward. >>ia jean, i think that is a critical question. if the president of the united states who is still president, barack obama, takes action against russia as he said he would, what would happen in our politics if the president-elect were to criticize the president for taking action against russia instead of russia? >> that would be a huge mess. one hopes it doesn't come to that. there are a lot of questions here that haven't been answered, even by the president's press conference today. and i think one of those questions that just has to be asked is, should he have acted more forcefully back in september? more publicly back in september? what impact would that have had? and i'm not sure we got the answer to that question today. >> yamiche, i think a big question hanging over the entire proceedings is about the fbi. the fbi suddenly has signed on to the idea that the russians

were behind the attacks. something the cia said in september and october. we know that the white house did announce that. they made that announcement, unfortunately, the most det definitive announcement came on the same day as the "access hollywood" tape. is jim comey in hot water here? this is somebody who took a lot of action to talk about what hillary clinton was or wasn't doing but held back when it came to russia. >> it's really tough to say whether or not he's in hot water because there's so many variables to what affected this election. one of the reasons why this could have been, some people think, the perfect crime, is because you can't say fake news is why hillary clinton lost or fake news is why -- or jim comey talking about this laetter is wy she lost. it could have also been that she called deplorable. it could have been that people never trusted her, that she didn't have a good message, that people wanted change and it didn't care what hillary or

obama said. people were going to go with what they have not been seeing for 30 years. wheth it's tough to say whether or not jim comey is out of a job. i doubt it. donald trump is the one who won the election and i don't think he's going to say anything about the fbi. >> let's stay with you for a moment. you were on the campaign trail. couldn't it also be possible the narratives coming out of wikileaks, the narratives coming out on the e-mails which was to the president's criticism today, almost all of what the media was focusing on, that would have fed into what people thought about hillary clinton. they were being pushed in that direction in part by what was coming out in wikileaks. >> it's tough, because yes, it's true there was a lot of media coverage of the e-mails. there are a lot of people on all the different stations. >> daily. >> it was, a drip, drip, drip of constant news. however, hillary clinton not being trustworthy happened way before the wikileaks issue. the why bernie sanders went so

far, why in january people thought he wasn't going to go anywhere and it took going to the dnc to get a roll count is because she didn't resonate with the population. she had real problems that showed even when she was getting nominated she had issues really sealing it up all the way. >> thank you, kristen welker, yamiche alcindor and eugene robinson. coming up, roy cooper is threatening legal action against his state's republicans as they try to unseat him before he's even sworn in to office. that's next, and this is "hardball."

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most people might think that this is a partisan power grab. but it is really more ominous. if i believe that laws passed by the legislature hurt working families and are unconstitutional, they will see me in court. and they don't have a very good track record there. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was north carolina governor elect democrat roy cooper threatening legal action against his state's republican-controlled state legislature when in the past 24 hours took power grabbing to a whole new low. north carolina republicans passed legislation to strip the power of the newly elected democratic governor before he's even sworn into office. this afternoon in what the

associated press called an extraordinary move, the defeated republican governor, pat mccrory, signed the legislature's bills into law. the new gop-crafted laws scale back the team that the democratic governor elect can bring into office, required the senate's approval for top administrators at state agencies and erases his ability to shape election boards state wide. >> reverend barber, this is extraordinary. afrx we have seen happen over the past week or so. were you surprised having dealt with him now all these many years that governor mccrory signed this legislation? >> no. he's been low. and this legislature has been low. they're not even republicans. they're extremists. they have constantly done things at the courts have overruled. i leave the courts will overrule this again. i'm coming fresh from the general assembly. nearly 100 people arrested. people were arrested for knocking on the door trying to

get into the gallery that is supposed to be open to the public. they were arrested because legislators on the floor said they voirss were too loud so they took away their first amendment right to protest. this is a cynical session, not a special session. and this is the politics, this is the haultics of haired and not of love and justice, but it will all backfire on them. they're very unpopular and it's so tragically sad and cynical that the governor would sign something like this and senator berger and speaker moore would pass these things. >> you said they're unpopular, but they have made it more difficult for people to vote. they have been relentless and open about stopping people from going to the ballot box. did these moves make it harder for people to vote them out if that's what people want? >> it could, but on the other hand, some of the things we're

doing because we don't have the preclearance package under section five, let's flip it over. they did this because they're afraid. they're afraid of this movement in north carolina. they vote to pass the worst voter suppression. we beat them. they passed the worst redistricting. we beat them. lines have to be drawn and have new elections in the new year. they purged voters, we beat them and got them put back on the rolls. they cut 158 early voting sites this year, 158 less than we had in 2014, and we beat them. the governor's race, the a.g.'s race, the auditor's race, the secretary of state, and an african-american in north carolina won 76 counties, in north carolina, joy, in the south, and 350,000 vote margin. they're scared. they know things are changing. they know a deeply moral, deeply constitutional anti-racist,

antipolicy agenda can transform the south and come against the southern policy, and we're going to beat them again because what they have done is unconstitutional and immoral. >> we look forward to talking to you again tomorrow morning. much more on the story. thank you so much. >> take care. up next, chris matthews' interview with the screenwriter of the new film "jackie" which tells the story of jacqueline kennedy and her life following the assassination of her husband. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. th passion... but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the spark cash card from capital one. with it, i earn unlimited 2% cash back on all of my purchasing. and that unlimited 2% cash back from spark means thousands of dollars each year going back into my business... which adds fuel to my bottom line.

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he wears his army hat, he gets awalks aroundliments. with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad. male vo: no one deserves a warmer welcome home. that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast. welcome back to "hardball." earlier this week, chris matthews sat down with the screenwriter of the new movie kwaetd jackie" about one of our most memorable first ladies. watch. >> of course. i love crowds.

>> you remember governor and mrs. connelly. >> welcome to dallas, darling. >> that was natalie portman brilliantly portraying jacqueline kennedy on that trackage dacday in dallas in 1963. it's a scene from "jackie" which chronicles how she faced the whirlwind of her life following the assassination of her husband, john f. kennedy. she said i lost track somewhere what was real and what was performance. here's a clip. >> people won't stop asking until you do. >> and if i don't, they'll interpret my silence however they want. her brow furrows. her lips are drawn. she holds back her tears bought

she can't hide her anger. >> most writers want to be famous. >> you want to be famous? >> no, i'm fine as i am, thank you. >> you should prepare yourself. this article will bring you a great deal of attention. >> in that case, any advice for me? >> yes. don't marry the president. are you afraid i'm about to cry? >> no, i say you're more likely to scream. >> scream what? >> my husband was a great man. >> i'm joined by the screenwriter of this great film, "jackie," by noah opeopenhiem. >> i have told people your age that 9/11 was a horror and an iconic moment in your life, but there was nothing in our lives like the death of john f. kennedy, nothing like it. it's very hard, in fact, when i have written about it myself, i said i can't deal with it so i write around it.

you go right to the heart of what hit this country so hard that friday afternoon when we got the word from cronkite, most of us, and our president, this young, handsome guy who had everything going for him, including this beyond belief beautiful wife, everything going for him, and then he didn't live anymore. >> yeah. >> he was dead. >> a stunning moment. it's funny. my interest in jackie kennedy actually began because my mother was similarly scarred, for lack of a better term, by the assassination. she was 13 years old at the time it happened, and sthhe can reca in vivid detail the principal of the school coming into your classroom. she saved from that week in 1963 all of the newspapers and magazines, so when i was a kid, i would go to my grandmother's house and leaf through them and that's where my ierest in jackie sort of first began. >> and jackie, as she survived that day, and as she went into it, tell us about how what her

fear was about her husband's legacy, the fear that she confronted in the interview, really was the interview with teddy white, a fictional character, but her interview with the reporter. what she was fearful of? people don't know that. >> it's extraordinary. she had many fears in those immediate days afterwards. she had the most mundane fear, which is where am i going to live, how am i going to support myself and my family? which seems crazy to us now, but she really was worried about it. on the bigger picture level, she was concerned that her husband was going to be quickly relivated to the dust bin of history and that his accomplishments in office would be quickly forgotten. you know, we now -- the notion that john f. kennedy would be forgotten seems precoposterous, but he was not the first president we lost to assassination. we lost others before him. when you look at the short period of time, you know, a

little less than three years he was in office, and you look at the list of things he actually was able to accomplish, you know, the fact that he would now be remember as amongst our most admired presidents in most gallup polls of american people was not guaranteed and only because of the work that jackie did during that week after the assassination that he is thought of as highly as he is. >> well, i may booir some of that, but i also think there's a reason people who lived through his presidency believe he should be on mt. rushmore, of all our presidents, he should be added but no doubt she lit a candle for that. let me ask you about the word assassination, like the word impeachment. >> yeah. >> when we were growing up in the '40s and '50s, no one had heard that word except old aged antiquated notions, assassination went back to garfield and mckinley and

lincoln. we didn't think of assassination as something that happened ipmodern times. you know what i mean? >> yeah. >> the idea of a president shot and killed in front of us, it just didn't seem -- it seemed an acronistic. >> on the most human level, and what we try to do in the film is try to imagine what jackie kennedy the woman, not just the icon, endured during this period of time. and if you think about it, she was seated beside her husband when he was violently murdered. physically showered in his blood. she had to go home and talk about the world being upended. for her, it was a really personal thing. she had to go home and shepherd two young children through the tragic loss of their father. she had to deal with the tromau of having been this up-close, personal witness to the violent murder of her husband. she had to vacate the home she lived in. to me, the extraordinary

strength that she displayed in this period of time is mind boggling. people think of jackie kennedy, as you said in the beginning, this extraordinarily beautiful woman, incredibly stylish, glamorous, but the sort of steel beneath the surface that she possessed in order to navigate that week and months afterwards, it kind of blows the mind when you think about all the things she was juggling and how just out of -- how unthinkable this event was, and she was in the middle of it. >> i love the part where she is smoking and the reporter is talking to her. she said i don't smoke. >> yeah, well, she did smoke throughout their time in the white house, and it was never photographed, never written about. obviously, it was a different era, a different media climate, but she was someone who really intuitively understood the power of imagery and the role of television and photography and the role that it could play in shaping people's impressions of her husband and of her, and she

exercised extraordinary control over that image, to great effect. >> the name of the film is "jackie" and thank you. the screenwriter, noah openhiem. >> that's "hardball" for now. "your business" with j.j. ramberg starts now. i trd hard to quit smoking. ♪ but when we brought our daughter home that was it. ♪ now i have nicoderm cq. the nicoderm cq patch with unique extended release technology helps prevent your urge to smoke all day. it's the best thing that ever happened to me. can you say thanks nicoderm cq? every great why needs a great how.

same nose. same toughness. and since he's had moderate alzheimer's disease, the same never quit attitude. that's why i asked his doctor about once-a-day namzaric. (avo) namzaric is approved for moderate to severe alzheimer's disease in patients who are taking donepezil. it may improve cognition and overall function, and may slow the worsening of symptoms for a while. namzaric does not change the underlying disease progression. don't take if allergic to memantine, donepezil, piperidine or any of the ingredients in namzaric. tell the doctor about any conditions including heart, lung, bladder, kidney or liver problems, seizures, stomach ulcers, or procedures with anesthesia. serious side effects may occur, including muscle problems if given anesthesia; slow heartbeat, fainting, more stomach acid which may lead to ulcers and bleeding; nausea, vomiting, difficulty urinating, seizures, and worsening of lung problems.

most common side effects are headache, diarrhea, dizziness loss of appetite, and bruising. (man) dad and i shared a lot of moments. now we're making the most of each one. (avo) ask about namzaric today. he wears his army hat, he gets awalks aroundliments. with his army shirt looking all nice. and then people just say, "thank you for serving our country" and i'm like, that's my dad. male vo: no one deserves a warmer welcome home.

that's why we're hiring 10,000 members of the military community by the end of 2017. i'm very proud of him. male vo: comcast. good morning. coming up on msnbc's "your business," what will president-elect trump and his pick to head the sba, linda mcmahon, do to help small businesses in 2017 inthis landscape architect captures the feeling and smell of a vermont christmas in her wreaths and ends up with a booming mail order company. >> and the twin sisters behind the elf on the shelf craze talk about being inspired by passion, not profit. that and much more on a year-end edition of "your business."